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An FDA panel just recommended reducing the maximum dose of acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol. Taken by millions of Americans every day as either a stand-alone medication or as an ingredient in various over-the-counter cold remedies, acetaminophen is the leading cause of liver failure in the U.S., resulting in hundreds of deaths by overdose every year.

MPP’s Assistant Director of Communications is interviewed by WUSA-TV 9 in Washington, DC, about the removal of a legal provision that prevented the District of Columbia from enacting any marijuana reform legislation. Also discussed was the case of Jonathan Magbie, a medical marijuana patient who died in the DC jail due to lack of medical treatment while serving a sentence for marijuana possession. 06/29/2009

Steve Fox, MPPās new director of state campaigns (who was also MPPās federal lobbyist from 2002-2005), sends in the following dispatch:

While riding the Metroās Red Line yesterday, I spotted former drug czar John Walters entering the train. When he ended up standing right beside me, I realized I couldnāt pass up the chance for a conversation.I know it sounds like a fruitless endeavor, but Iām an eternal optimist and thought, āMaybe if we have a casual lunch together, heāll come to see the folly of keeping marijuana illegal.ā Read the rest of this entry »

From time to time we get some flack for pointing out that as a “recreational” substance, marijuana is safer than alcohol. Anyone who doubts that claim might want to look at this new study from The Lancet, one of the world’s top medical journals.

Researchers reviewed information on deaths in three major Russian cities from 1990 to 2001 and questioned family members about the decedents’ alcohol use, reporting the astonishing finding that “in several recent years, alcohol was a cause of more than half of all Russian deaths at ages 15-54 years.” Causes of death that were greatly increased by heavy alcohol use included accidents, violence, alcohol poisoning, and several types of cancer.

We’ve said it before, but we’ll keep saying it: No drug is 100% harmless, but marijuana simply does not cause anything near the wreckage that alcohol causes, even in very heavy users.

MPP’s Neal Levine talks with Dana Gentry about the increasing support for taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol and the rewards of such a system. He also discusses the plans for a ballot initiative to be voted on in 2012. Mr. Levine is the Director of the Marijuana Policy Project of Nevada. 06/11/2009

Today the New Hampshire Legislature approved a medical marijuana bill custom tailored to addresses the governor’s concerns in hopes of avoiding a veto that would leave the stateās medical marijuana patients vulnerable to arrest, even if they have their doctorās recommendation.

Gov. John Lynch told lawmakers that he would veto the bill in its original form, which passed both chambers last month, if eight specific concerns of his were not addressed.

A special legislative committee spent the past month revising the bill according to those eight concerns, which you can view here, along with how the revised bill that the Legislature passed today addresses them.

The question now is whether the governor was sincere about finding a workable compromise that meets the needs of medical marijuana patients. In the next couple weeks, weāll be reminding the governor of the seriously ill who are depending on him to do the right thing by purchasing radio and TV ad time highlighting the patients whose lives hang in the balance.

Thus far, officials aren’t revealing the circumstances or the cause of death, but this isn’t the first time someone has died serving a short jail sentence for marijuana possession. In September 2004, quadriplegic Jonathan Magbie — who used marijuana to relieve the chronic pain lingering from the childhood accident that left him paralyzed — died in the Washington, D.C., jail while serving a 10-day sentence for marijuana possession.

Here in the U.S., medical marijuana is still routinely branded as some sort of sinister “drug legalizer” conspiracy. In Israel, according to a fascinating article in the newspaper Haaretz, the leading conspirator appears to be the Ministry of Health.

Officials have authorized over 700 patients to use marijuana for medical purposes, and expect the number to rise to 1,200 within three months. Authorities are in the process of authorizing five or six producers to handle the needs of this growing patient population. Read the rest of this entry »

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"I really believe we should treat marijuana the way we treat beverage alcohol. If people can go into a liquor store and buy a bottle of alcohol and drink it at home legally, then why do we say that the use of this other substance is somehow criminal?"
Pat Robertson, Chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network, The New York Times, March 7, 2012